Energy Sector Is Isolated from Trade Talk OptimismHighest level in 2019On February 21, US crude oil April futures fell 0.3% and settled at $56.96 per barrel. On the same day, WTI crude oil prices made an intra-day high of $57.61—the highest level

Global shares crept higher on Friday as signs of progress on trade offset a worsening economic outlook, while the Aussie dollar recouped some losses after China denied it had halted Australian coal imports. Brent crude oil hit a 2019 high, supported by OPEC's ongoing supply cuts. The pan-European STOXX 600 index gained 0.3 percent and Germany's DAX was up over half a percent by afternoon trade in London.

Global shares crept higher on Friday as signs of progress on trade offset a worsening economic outlook, while the Aussie dollar recouped some losses after China denied it had halted Australian coal imports. Brent crude oil hit a 2019 high, supported by OPEC's ongoing supply cuts. The pan-European STOXX 600 index gained 0.3 percent and Germany's DAX was up over half a percent by afternoon trade in London.

It's been weird in the coal world in recent days, with the world's largest shipper saying it's capping output, biggest seaborne buyer China putting restrictions on some imports, and an Australian court saying mines must factor in climate change. Throw in an executive at a major Indian coal-fired power generator saying his company won't build any new plants as coal can't compete with renewables, and it's little surprise that environmental activists may be tempted to pop champagne corks. The most significant development this week was Glencore's announcement on Feb. 20 that it will cap its annual output around its current capacity of 145 million tonnes.

Global oil prices printed fresh 2019 highs Friday, taking crude to the highest levels since early November, as hopes for a U.S.-China trade deal that would stoke demand in the world's biggest energy market continue to offset record U.S. production. The Energy Information Administration said Thursday that U.S. output hit 12 million barrel a day last week, the highest on record and a jump of more nearly 2 million barrels per day from the same period last year.

Oil prices rose on Friday, supported by OPEC's ongoing supply cuts and hopes that Washington and Beijing may soon end their trade dispute. Further gains were tempered by U.S. crude oil production hitting a record 12 million barrels per day (bpd) and a surge in exports from the country. By 1125 GMT, U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures were up 51 cents at $57.48 per barrel but still shy of this week's $57.55 per barrel 2019 high.

Spot premium hard coking coal shipped from Australia gained 3.8 percent on Thursday to $215.09 a ton, the highest since Jan. 2, according to Fastmarkets MB. It was also the day after the market was hit by a supply outage by Anglo American Plc shutting its biggest producing mine in Queensland. “If there was some ban on Australian coking coal then you would see it reflected in the spot markets very quickly and that’s not the case,” Daniel Hynes, an analyst at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd., said by phone.

Asia's biggest oil consumers are flooding the region with fuel as refining output is exceeding consumption amid a slowdown in demand growth, pressuring industry profits. Since 2006, the Asia-Pacific has been the world's biggest oil consuming region, led by traditional industrial users South Korea and Japan along with rising economic powerhouses China and India. Car sales in China, the world's second-biggest oil user, fell for the first time on record last year, and early 2019 sales also remain weak, implying a slowdown in gasoline demand.

China's Australian coal imports continue as normal, but the customs administration has stepped up environment and safety checks on foreign cargoes, Geng Shuang, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said on Friday. Geng said during a press briefing that a Reuters report that the northern port of Dalian has banned Australia coal imports was not true. Reuters reported on Thursday that customs at Dalian has banned imports of Australian coal and will cap overall coal imports from all sources to the end of 2019 at 12 million tonnes.

The foreign ministry on Friday said the report of a block on Australian coal at one northern port was false, echoing information from miners, Canberra lawmakers and people familiar with official orders in China. For several weeks, China has been targeting Australian coal imports by slowing down customs clearance, resulting in delays at ports and stoking speculation that Beijing is retaliating against a ban on Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei Technologies Co. Markets are spooked that it could be the start of more widespread import curbs against Australia, which counts China as its biggest trading partner.

Australia's Minister for Trade, Simon Birmingham, said on Friday delays to exports of coal to China were caused by import quotas and not a blanket ban on Australian coal. The Australian dollar fell more than 1 percent on Thursday after Reuters reported that customs at Dalian had banned imports of Australia's biggest export earner since the start of February.

Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Friday a ban on Australian coal imports at China's northern port of Dalian does not point to a souring of ties between the countries. This is not the first time that on occasion local ports make decisions about these matters," Morrison told reporters in Auckland. The Australian currency fell more than 1 percent on Thursday after Reuters reported that customs at Dalian had banned imports of Australia's biggest export earner since the start of February.

A Reuters report Thursday that the northern port of Dalian had banned imports from China’s biggest supplier of the black stuff sent ripples through global markets, driving the Australian dollar down as much as 1.3 percent after a whipsawing day of trade. London-listed shares in Glencore Plc, Anglo American Plc and BHP Group fell 3.2 percent, 1.5 percent and 2 percent respectively. The obvious fear is that Canberra’s increasingly rocky relationship with Beijing could be prompting more widespread import curbs, not unlike China’s brake on U.S. agricultural exports since the trade war began.

A reported ban on Australian coal imports into China's northern port of Dalian will not have a "dramatic effect" on the local economy, Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Philip Lowe said on Friday. ...

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WINNIPEG, Manitoba/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Cenovus Energy is pressing ahead with aggressive plans to transport more crude by rail, contrasting itself with peers who have hit the brakes, as the Canadian oil producer bets that pipeline bottlenecks are likely to return. Pipeline congestion depressed Canadian oil prices last year, prompting Cenovus and other producers to increase their reliance on rail to move crude to U.S. refineries. Alberta's provincial government imposed mandatory production cuts in January, an unusual step that succeeded in narrowing the gap - called a differential - between Canadian and U.S. prices.